How to effectively cut through the noise and deliver your best: Introducing ‘The Graded incremental progression system’
The stage: You have decided to develop your dream project.You have the fundamental thread or base idea, and its culturing through brainstorming and mind-mapping phase.In your pursuit, the new idea/tool/strategy ( hereafter referred to as artifacts), grow bigger and diverse, and at one point they are virtually on the verge of explosion from uncontrollable complexity and diffusion.You lose sight of the original goal and you are confused to the point of absolute despair!
The inevitable result follows: Project stalled!
How many of you could relate to this scenario?
Well , I am sure to bet for a dime, that its true for pretty much everyone of us , at least if you are starting out as an independent executor of a project.
I shall try to give you a walk-through the whole thesis by means of a strategic framework as follows-
Strategy I: Every new artifact, is first evaluated against the set metric of the next immediate deliverable.
As Peter Decker once remarked
“If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Improve It”
You need to have a graded system, where every milestone is mapped out with its defining characteristics and the outcome is graded on a simple intuitive scale.( caveat: Be as specific here!)
Let me try to elucidate.Suppose you are publishing a book, you have phased out the milestones and the stages ( If not, you are not ready! better rethink!). Let the stages of project be mapped out as: Manuscript development, art work, pre-production, digital production and marketing.You should have set metrics that standardize production of each phase.
Now suppose you are in art work and graphics editing phase. You are ready to compile, when very unexpectedly you discover some fantastic new indie pieces you want to ensemble to your existing work.The new inputs, require you to assess a multitude of new processing tools and devices, which are all adding to “ innovation factor”. You are pretty sure the inclusion of these might enhance your stage II output quality further.
However the outcome is not the parts, but the net whole!
So what you could try instead is to align them incrementally with your previous stage benchmarks and compare the new outcome for systematic consistency.
You could check against the following signposts-
- Firstly, whether the inclusion of new piece/s align with and improve on the preceding phase. Do they serve to achieve a coherent upgrade of the existing product.
- What value of your available resources, which could be time, acquiring new skills, finances etc. does the new inclusion demand. Again, do they translate into metrics?
This way you avoid diffusion, inconsistency and unwanted complexity.
Strategy II: Execute first, refine organically in-field
Most of us when working on a project wait for the perfect recipe, the perfect structure and that finest aesthetics to be all fit in one piece before starting to execute.This tendency, I find is one of the most diffusive mentality for creative endeavors.I do not have a problem with structure and of course planning the logistics, layout and central thread of your final product is indeed a sensible approach.I find the fundamental disadvantage of this approach being the massive inertia to begin the process of execution.
One of my favorite film directors used to remark the following when asked about the unique finesse he achieves with his craft
” I just have a storyboard, but the real craft develops infield as a process of constructive and organic assimilation of inputs from my crew”.In the end it’s a beautiful and vivid recipe, but the soul of the product is still mine.”
So, proceed to take the first steps always with a check-point reference to the resources you have in-hand, (this is very crucial!), and then refine it by measuring and molding it through the graded incremental progression system (strategy I).
Strategy III: Access your work from PoV of your end-customer at every turn of your roadmap. Seek expert opinion on new viabilities and probables.
For example, going back to our use-case of publishing, if the possibility of new marketing channel pushes you to deviate further from existing requirements , then a detour of your work history can reveal the gaps as of why you cant include the new opportunity.Taking the feedback of someone who has taken a similar route, might help you to prepare for the new requirements enforced by the new element, in this case a new marketing strategy.
In essence, the takeaway is:
Do not fear to explore, but be smart about it
With that being said, I wrap up my rant on this pitch right here!
Will hit back with another follow-up episode on new strategic approaches to challenges in manifesting your creative ventures.
Until then, do your thing! the game is on, always!
